A REASON TO SMILE

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.”

James 1:2 NLT

Have you ever experienced a day where it seemed like nothing was going right? Of course you have. There’s something you should know – You are not alone. We all have good days and bad days. A few weeks ago I was experiencing drama everywhere I went:

My job was stressing me out.

There was also confusion in my home.

My daughter was tripping.

I had a sudden decrease in my finances.

My laptop wouldn’t work.

A sudden pain came in my lower back.

I had to confront someone for making inappropriate comments.

And to top it off, someone noticed that my countenance had changed (unaware of what I was going through) and asked, “Why aren’t you smiling?” A part of me wanted to say, “I don’t have a reason to smile!”

I was stressed out. All of this took place in 3 days! I remember lying across my bed, feeling frustrated; tired of it all. I pulled out my cell phone and logged on to Facebook just to get my mind off of things. And the first thing I saw posted was the death of a friend who had cancer. I had been praying for years for healing in her body. I really just wanted to get in my car and drive. But the way things were going, I probably would’ve gotten in a wreck or pulled over by the police or something. Things just weren’t going well for me, so I just stayed where I was at.

So as I laid there on the bed, I decided to do what I should have done in the first place. I shut everything down and got in the presence of God. He began to speak to my heart and this is where I found solace. The Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance the importance of the Word, my purpose, and how valuable I am to God. When you have this type of devotion and fellowship with God, you will discover the answers to life. And once you acquire this knowledge, it will produce joy in your heart. Let’s look at the above Scripture again along with verses 3 & 4:

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

James 1:2-4 NLT

Joy comes from “knowing”. You must know that when your faith is being tested, this helps your endurance to grow. And when your endurance is fully developed, you will be complete, lacking nothing! So when troubles come, “smile”. Why? Because it’s an opportunity to help you grow. Smile because of what you “know” on the inside. Every time trouble shows up you should smile. Not because of trouble itself, but because you know the part it plays in you being complete and whole. Just like a weightlifter uses weights to help develop his muscles; you use troubles to help develop your endurance. And once your endurance is mature, nobody can stop you.

“They aren’t afraid when bad news comes. They stand firm because they trust in the Lord. Their hearts are secure. They aren’t afraid. In the end they will see their enemies destroyed.”

Psalm 112:7-8 NIRV

When troubles come, that’s not a reason to quit; that’s a reason to smile. Consider it an opportunity for great joy because you know that God’s got you.

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed.

We are perplexed, but not driven to despair.

We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.

We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT

BILLIE MILLER “The Motivational Minister” is a Bible teacher, speaker, and the #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of “Life in Righteousness: The Word is Your Life” and “30 Days of Righteousness: The Word is Your Life Action Plan”. Thousands of lives have been changed through Billie’s powerful teachings. For more information please visit www.BillieMiller.com. Follow Billie on twitter (@BillieMiller7) and on facebook (BillieMillerPage).